Category: Buy Gold

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How many Gold Sovereign coins have Queen Elizabeth II’s face on?

Our late Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-reigning monarch in British history. As a result, her face is currently featured on approximately 27 billion coins circulating in the UK. 

In 1953, a year after Queen Elizabeth II took the throne, five different versions of her portrait were created by The Royal Mint for UK  coins. Below we discuss the five different portraits of the Gold Sovereign coins which were created during her reign. 

The First Coin

The sculptor Mary Gillick engraved the first coin portrait, which depicts The Queen at 26 years old. This coin represented a fresh start following the Second World War and announced a new Elizabethan era. This coin was used up until decimalisation in 1970. 

The Second Coin

In 1968, Arnold Machin designed the Second Coin, and her portrait was released at the same time as the introduction of the new five and ten-pence coins. This coin pictures Queen Elizabeth II wearing a tiara instead of a wreath. This portrait was used until 1984. 

The Third Coin 

In 1985 the third definitive UK coin portrait was released, and it featured on coins up until 1997. The sculptor Raphael Maklouf designed this coin, and it depicts Queen Elizabeth II wearing the royal diadem. 

The Fourth Coin

The fourth portrait was created by the sculptor Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS. in 1966; he was invited to participate in a competition to design the new royal portrait. This coin was released in 1998 and was quite overdue.

The Fifth Coin

In 2015 the fifth and final definitive UK coin portrait was released. Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark designed it; this coin is still used today. In this portrait, the Queen was 88 years old, and King George IV State Diadem is sitting on her head. She is wearing her Diamond Jubilee drop pear earrings. 

The Royal Mint saw a massive surge in website traffic during the 24 hours after the Queen passed away. Website visitors were coming to their site to purchase the last coins featuring the Queen’s portrait. In just a few hours, the final coins had sold out. 

The Royal Mint has confirmed that the 2023 Britannia coins will feature Elizabeth II for the remainder of 2022 and will switch to Charles III in the new year.

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The difference between a Gold Britannia coin and a Gold Krugerrand

If you want to invest in Gold bullion coins, it’s important to understand the difference between the different coins. Almost all first-world countries mint their own Gold coins so it can be a bit confusing to know which ones to buy.

In this blog, we will start by discussing the difference between the two most well-known coins, the Gold Britannia coin and the Gold Krugerrand coin. 

The Gold Britannia Coin

The Gold Britannia coin is the most well-known gold coin in the UK. It was first minted in 1987 with a face value of £100. It is one of the most popular coins amongst British investors. The Britannia coin was originally created as a 22-carat coin, but in 2013 it was switched to a 24-carat coin. It became a bigger coin with a diameter of 38.61mm. A year later in 2014, it was changed back to its original size of 32.69mm and 31.1grams but remained a 24-carat Gold coin. Both the 24-carat and 22-carat Gold Britannia coins have the same value. 

On the head of the Gold Britannia coin, you will see Queen Elizabeth II. On the back of the coin is a portrait of Brittania, a Roman goddess of battle and guardian of the seas. Britannia is recognised worldwide as a trusted symbol of British National pride and the quality of British minting. 

Buying physical gold like the Britannia Gold coin has tax benefits in the UK; it is exempt from capital gains tax and VAT. In addition, Gold bullion coins can be exchanged for cash, goods and services all over the world.

Every October we see a shortage of Brittania Gold coins as the Royal Mint create the next year’s coin during the month of October. So at the moment, they are printing the 2023 coin. 

The crrent value of the Gold Britannia Coin is: 

The Gold Krugerrand Coin

The Gold Krugerrand coin was the world’s first bullion coin, minted in South Africa. It was first produced in 1967 and since then has remained the most traded Gold coin globally. 

It is 22-carat Gold and has a purity of 91.67%; the remaining percentage is made up of copper, which makes the coin highly durable. This means that the coin has fewer wear and tear marks than other coins of a certain age. 

On the head of the coin, you will find the 3rd President of The South African Republic, Paul Kruger. This is why the coin was named the Gold Krugerrand, a combination of Kruger and the South African currency “the rand.” The reverse of the coins features the Springbok, South Africa’s national animal.

The Krugerrand is a popular choice for UK investors as it is VAT free. In addition, it has a consistently low price, making it a great choice for first-time investors. 

Both the Britainna and the Krugerrand coins are equal to 1oz of gold. In terms of the value of Gold, they both have the same amount of Gold but they are priced differently. The Britannia is usually cheaper because it is made in the UK and the Krugerrand is coming from South Africa. Nevertheless, right now The Britannia is more expensive because of the current changes happening within the Royal Family. 

If you have more in-depth questions about the different types of Gold coins, you can drop us an email or even come and see us in London.

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I have £50k budget, how should I invest in gold?

One of the frequent questions we get asked is which gold bar should a customer buy? Well, it really depends on your investment budget and individual needs. However, usually people are looking to invest in gold over a longer term than bitcoin or shares or safeguard against inflation and such, what that means is you don’t want a temptation to sell gold too early or get locked into selling a kilo bar worth £40-£50k to release say, just £5k worth of cash!

If you have a investment budget of say £40- £50k you could easily buy 1KG bar, however it might be good to buy a 500gm bar that you wouldn’t easily be tempted to sell and buy a 250gm with 2X100gm and a 50gm bar. Tip is to diversify in terms of weight, so if you have a short term cash deficit then you don’t have to break a big bar of 1kg, you could just sell a 100gm or 250gm bar to get through a short term situation.

You could buy 10X100gm bars, however there smaller the bar more it costs per gram and also it could make it a little too convenient to sell something that you wanted to keep over a longer term. Again it depends on what your individual needs are, there are plenty of customers who choose this option as well and they do get a volume discount when bulk buying.

Another option is to get a secured loan against a gold bar, you should get 70% to 80% LTV ratio and may be the interest spent is worth not loosing an investment asset. J blundell and Sons offers both, we buy your gold and we give out loans against gold, please check out the ‘Borrow’ which covers loans in detail.

Hope this was helpful.

Advice above is generic and you should consult a financial advisor who can advise you about your individual needs.

  • 1kg gold bar best value LBMA Approved
  • 100gm gold bar best value LBMA Approved